In recent years shale reservoirs have been the primary focus of new exploration and production in the hydrocarbon industry. Shale formations present additional challenges over traditional formations (e.g., sandstone). For example, in many cases only portions of a shale formation hydraulically fractured produce hydrocarbons in commercially viable quantities. It follows that the layout of wells within a shale formation in many cases is a series of wells that are substantially parallel. However, lease lines for mineral rights rarely define nice squares or rectangles, and thus planning the layout of wells for a shale formation where the layout provides sufficient drainage of the shale formation at an economically viable price can be a difficult and time consuming process.